Dietary lead intake of preschool children.

A nationwide, seven-day food consumption survey of 371 preschool children between the ages of birth and five years indicated that a direct linear relationship existed between age and increased dietary lead intake from foods consumed. Daily dietary lead intake averaged 62 micrograms and ranged from 15 micrograms to 234 micrograms. The various levels of lead intake were attributed to frequency of consumption of food items, quantity of food consumed, and the lead content of particular food items. To account for variation in the quantity of food consumed by the various children, average lead intake per 500 kilocalories consumed and per 500 g of food consumed was calculated. When these standardization procedures were followed, an equalization in the average daily dietary lead intake values was observed among the various aged children.